Coronavirus: grim milestone in Spain, new surge hits Italy

Spain has become the first major country to hit 1000 new cases of coronavrius per million people over a seven-day period.

An undertaker prepares a grave for the burial of a victim of COVID-19 at the Almudena cemetery in Madrid on the weekend. Picture: AP

Spain on the weekend became the first major country in the world to hit 1000 new cases of coronavrius per million people over a seven-day period, topping Italy’s 658 per million reached last week.

The death toll in Italy shot past 10,000 on Saturday, with little sign of it slowing despite a 16-day lockdown. The 889 new fatalities in the world’s worst-hit nation came a day after it registered 969 deaths — the highest single toll since the virus emerged late last year.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced stricter lockdown measures that will force all non-essential workers to stay at home for the next two weeks, as the government reported 832 new coronavirus cases overnight Saturday. The latest moves to combat the virus in Spain, the second-worst affected country in Europe after Italy, were scheduled to be approved at a cabinet meeting on Sunday and will last from Monday until April 9.

“This decision allows us to reduce the number of infected people to a much greater extent,” Mr Sanchez said in a televised address.

Mr Sanchez also used the address to urge the EU to act and called for a “united economic and social strategy”.

He urged the EU to issue bonds, saying “we have to mutualise the debt, issue reconstruction bonds to deal with coronavirus”. “We do not understand why the eurozone, which shares a currency, does not share fiscal policy,” he said.

As Spain prepared to enter its third week of lockdown, hospitals and morgues struggled under the pressure and infections rose to 78,800 on Sunday from 64,059 on Friday.

Health emergency chief Fernando Simon said the epidemic appeared to be reaching its peak in some areas, but the country was short of intensive care beds.

Italy now looks certain to extend its economically debilitating — and emotionally stressful — business closures and the ban on public gatherings past their April 3 deadline. “Is it time to reopen the country? I think we have to think about it really carefully,” civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli said. “The country is at a standstill and we must maintain the least amount of activity possible to ensure the survival of all.”

Italians had begun to hope that their worst disaster in generations was easing after the increase in daily death rates began to slow on March 22. But the new surge has changed the Mediterranean nation’s mood. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told Italians on Saturday to be ready to spend more time cooped up at home.

“If one is being reasonable, one cannot envision a quick return to normal life,” Mr Conte said in his latest sombre television address.

The monumental economic toll has triggered a huge row among European leaders about how best to respond. The southern European nations worst-hit by the virus are urging the EU to abandon its budget rules.

AFP, Reuters